Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1970, Blaðsíða 300

308
Place-names of Fula
places, the older at Haemtun, and the newer at Ham, both
names from hpfn, and the two main settlements. There are
five conical hills of sandstone, and the soil is good. Being
25 kilometres from the nearest part of Shetland, which is
often hid in mist, Foula is a world of its own. The total area
is 8 square kilometres, composing in older days 57, and later
63 marks of land. Surrounded by rich fishing grounds, the
population varied from 118 to 143 between 1731 and 1790,
was 215 in 1841, 267 in 1881, 222 in 1901, 75 in 1951 and
54 in 1961. The causes of the rapid decline in the present
century are the end of open boat fishing and the world wars.
To do full justice to the very large number of names pre-
served by the Fula people would require a considerable book.
The list here was collected from each family through the
school, and verbally from Fula people residing in Scalloway.
There are 47 sources, and the names were gathered between
1951 and 1956. The purpose here is to furnish a fairly com-
plete list of place-names for a Shetland island, and phonetics,
variations of the same name, map-position, etc. cannot be
treated. However, an attempt at grouping under the main
source-words is given.
á The Shetland word o(wo) was lost from about 1700 onwards
and was replaced by the Scots burn. Blobersburn, Kreg B.,
Nederfandel B., Crooked B., and Ham B. are one, including
in its course a croft called BURNS. Other small streams are
B. a Waster Hevdi, a Vatsros, a Heljaklif*, aa Slðg. The
second main stream is the Wils B. The genitiv ár is found
in Wirli (ár-lið) and Wirwis banks (ár-óss). Yelpasburn
suggests (hjálp), in grinding corn(?)
áll Ols, Oolastura.
almenningr Wolmens.
auga Jelkijeog, Russijeog::', Jeogins. Jungna(?)
aust- Est Sukkamires, E. Hovdi, E. Gaad, Est Bank an da
Baa:;\
Prepositional names in ‘A’. — Atween da Heljigs, Anunder